To be fair, I'd've probably continued to hunt for a free alternative if it weren't for the fact that I actually walked into GAME one day, spotted PSP on the shelf, AND had enough cash on me!
A bloody rarity, I can tell you!

melmantheman i font understand why people pay so much for adobe products like flash and photoshop when you can just use gimp 2 and Pencil studio. anyone agree?

Photoshop is far from perfect, it has loads of issues, and there are lots of specific examples which Gimp is easier/better at performing. But overall, I'd mostly disagree.

Photoshop's feature umbrella stretches much further then Gimp's, and allows you to do far more. Even just basic stuff is missing from Gimp, such as layer folders, and layer filters. Pretty much all graphics artists and designers, regardless of what their favourite tools are, will use Photoshop somewhere in their work flow, and it's because other tools just don't offer the same complete package.

Gimp's GTK interface is also terrible. New windows often open up underneath existing ones, lots of dialogues such as the colour mixer appear in alt+tab, and many commands cannot be used whilst dialogues have focus.

I've tried many (including Paint.Net), but always end up returning to MSPaint. It really does everything I need it to (except alpha, which I really only use for icons anyway).

I just love the clean and clear blank canvas that MSPaint gives me. No hundreds of options (that will be mostly ignored/redundant to me)and no floating menus (ack!) that get in the way of my work. It's only let down is that it doesn't offer 4x magnification off the bat (but it is available in a menu).

I've been using Photoshop since 5.5, and although I have my complaints about CS5 (as I have about 5.5, 7, CS1, CS2, and so on), it's by no means inferior to any prior version. That said, I say this as someone who uses Photoshop extensively and grasps just how vast its capabilities are (though I still have the pleasure of learning new things after all these years). For someone like me who has to paint a wide variety of things (diffuse, specular, etc. maps being the most prominent, though that's really just one area out of many), Photoshop is excellent, and CS5 is the best version I've used thus far. The price seems exaggerated at first glance, but Photoshop is the result of many, many years of hard work, research (most people ignore that part), and innovation - if you're not willing to cough up the dough for a tool that allows you to do just about anything you would need to within the realm of image editing, then go use Gimp and let me know how long it takes for you to stab your eyes out.

Price is not a consideration.
If you buy Photoshop through Adobe or a licensed retailer, you're a tool.
I bought my CS3 through eBay, saved lots of cash and am very pleased with it (haven't had a need to upgrade thus far).

I bought my copies through a so called low end source and so price for ME was not bad but still in a retail store the cost is terrible.
I thought Amazon was not an official dealer of the stuff and of course Ebay is considered used.

Not everyone is a charlatan on eBay and there definitely are bargains to be had on there with genuine software products. Unfortunately, it's not always easy/possible to know exactly what you're getting until it's in your hands.

I've bought several "genuine" items (software, DVDs and games) from there over the years only to find it wasn't. It's a chance you take sometimes and then PayPal and eBay's Buyer Protections have come in very handy. Only once have I lost out (but that was due to my inexperience of eBay at the time).

Not everyone on ebay is a charlatan, but the people selling ~$700 USD software for $100? At a significant loss to themselves no matter what possible discount they could've gotten? Yeah, it's pirated. Maybe it came from a group that sells fraudulent copies that generates their own keys (which wouldn't be all that difficult to do, honestly), or perhaps the copies are stolen, but ebay sellers aren't stupid enough to lose $100 to $600 (depending on what discount Afr0 thinks they get - most tend to be in the 10% to 15% range) USD selling a copy of Photoshop. It simply doesn't stand to reason that someone would pay a significant chunk of money for something only to sell it for a loss on ebay.

Well I'm pretty sure that when I got CS3, which was like a couple of years back, they were already up to CS4 or CS5, so it is quite possible, the way I see it, that stores would sell old versions to their employees for much more than 10 - 15 percent discharge, if those products aren't being sold anyways.
If my memory serves me correctly the package was also shrink-wrapped when I received it.
If I can be bothered to, and if I remember, I'll take a photo of the box when I arrive back at my apartment.

I also think that due to the nature of eBay, there is a possibility to lose quite a lot of money. Because nobody will bid on an item if it starts out at like 100$, even if it's a product like Photoshop. So you have to make sure to time it in such a way that you reach a target price before the auction runs out.
Therefore it is possible that sellers are unintentionally being ripped off, but if that is the case they never seem to learn.

Lots of software companies give out tonnes of free software. I got a free copy of Team Foundation Server from Microsoft, which is more expensive then Photoshop (although it wasn't boxed or anything like that).

Lots of professionals also get given free stuff. I know a sound engineer who has received lots of free goods as a part of his work; clothes, food, drinks, watches and high-end PC equipment.

So some copies on eBay could be freebies, and that would justify the selling price.

Companies give out hardware and software free to numerous individuals for various reasons.

I got my Palm Pre 2 from HP for free - a phone that was originally priced at $600, to develop for HP with absolutely no proof that I could do the job. I have, but I know others haven't. I could just as easily sold it on eBay, as I know others have.